Golf training aids

ABSTRACT

This application discloses a golfer&#39;&#39;s training aid wherein a pair of opaque shutters are pivotally secured to a frame for a pair of eyeglasses. A resilient member is provided to provide a force for moving the shutters to a position obscuring the user&#39;&#39;s normal line of sight. A pivotal plumb bob coacts with one shutter and the frame to maintain both shutters above the user&#39;&#39;s normal line of sight. A ratchet-like mechanism on one shutter coacts with the plumb bob and allows both shutters to be moved downward, edgewise, in successive stages, in response to successive relative movements of the plumb bob, caused by movements of the golfer&#39;&#39;s head and frame during a putting stroke.

United States Patent [191 Goode GOLF TRAINING AIDS [76] Inventor:Rexford Fenton Goode, 901 A: N.W.

18th St., Oklahoma City, Okla. 73106 [22] Filed: Oct. 4, 1973 [21] Appl.No.: 403,558

[52] US. Cl. 273/183 B, 351/45, 273/183 E, 2/14 XS, 2/13 [51] Int. ClA63b 69/36 [58] Field of Search 273/183, 188, 190,54 B; 351/45; 2/14 XS,13

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,980,101 11/1934 Schneider273/190 A 2,440,878 5/1948 Schneider 273/183 B June 25, 1974 PrimaryExaminerGeorge J. Mlarlo [57] ABSTRACT This application discloses agolfers training aid wherein a pair of opaque shutters are pivotallysecured to a frame for a pair of eyeglasses. A resilient member isprovided to provide a force for moving the shutters to a positionobscuring the users normal line of sight. A pivotal plumb bob coactswith one shutter and the frame to maintain both shutters above the usersnormal line of sight. A ratchet-like mechanism on one shutter coactswith the plumb bob and allows both shutters to be moved downward,edgewise, in successive stages, in response to successive relativemovements of the plumb bob, caused by movements of the golfers head andframe during a putting stroke.

3 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures GOLF TRAINING AIDS The Synchronous PuttingStroke Trainer is mechanized to be worn on the head during puttingpractice. In order to permit the device to be used in a natural way,without any precautions or special procedures, the mechanism whichcontrols the vision impairment shutters of the device is configured suchas to permit the user to follow a good putting practice routine such asused by most good golfers. Thus, time and head motion derivatives ofwhat is considered to be good putting practice procedure have beenintegrated into the design to the extent that it may well be termedsynchronous. As worn by the student of golf in putting practice, thevision impairment shutters can not be caused to close except under thefollowing conditions:

movement of wearers head toward the hole;

movement of head toward hole only if wearers head is in puttingposition;

only from this said position if two looks have been taken toward thepractice hole by the wearer subsequent to reset of the device; and,

only if said two looks were taken with wearers head in normal puttingposition. Accidental or false closures are thereby either precluded orminimized. The wearer is able to line up a putt normally, and from anormal putting position rotate his head toward the hole and back to thegolf ball a total of two times, whereupon the device is set, withhair-trigger sensitivity, to close and impair the forward vision of thewearer if there is the slightest head movement in the direction of thehole, during or after stroking the putt. If, however, the wearer keepshis head perfectly still, the shutters will not close and the wearer canrotate his head; slowly and smoothly, and watch his ball roll toward thehole.

The object of this invention is to facilitate the development of correcttechnique and execution of the golf putting stroke through repeated usein a conditioned reflex manner of learning. Such use will supress andgradually eliminate the effect of the strong subconscious desire, commonto all golfers, to see the result of a putt while still in the processof stroking it.

A further object of the device is to provide the necessary visualcontrol while maintaining operational harmony with accepted puttingtechnique and procedures. Patterned after the routine used by most goodgolfers, this involves choosing a ball and a hole to putt to on thegreen and placing the putter back of the ball and taking the puttingstance with eyes over the ball and perpendicular to the putting surface.The golfer will then ro tate his head toward the hole and back to theball two times to check and re-check the line and distance to the holeand then, after making final adjustment as necessary, stroke the putt.

A further object of this invention is that is simplicity andnon-criticality. The subject invention is esentially self-adaptive toits intended environment and can be cooked or re-set at any timefollowing practice strokes, with the golfers head either in the puttingor in the upright position, ready for the next stroke as the devicecannot close due to routine head movements which are not part of thegolfers planned practice routing.

It is also the object of this invention to provide the student of golfwith an instrument which is not only of great utility in the developmentof the putting phase of golf but which with minor modification can beused for practice in iron play as well. Such modification merelyinvolves substitution of the plumb bob used for putting for a lightweight plumb bob and blocking out all of the teeth in the controlshutter slot except one.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide a choice ofshutter closure parameters to suit the individual user. The device asdescribed provides selective impairment of vision only if the wearerlooked up" with a jerky movement of the head at a critical time duringthe execution of the putting stroke. Altematively, the device can bemade sensitive to the point where the shutters will close on every puttonce the ball has been contacted whether the wearer has looked up ornot. This action places further emphasis on hitting through the ball,particularly in iron play, because the player cant see the ball for someshort period of time following execution of the shot at any rate.

Yet another object of the device is that of providing the capability ofvariation in the number of looks required by the user for activation ofthe control system for the shutters. The device as described is capableof from zero to two, by means of blocking out teeth in the control slotof one of the shutters; by means of adding teeth, three or four lookswould be required.

Another important object of the device is that of compatibility ofdesign with integration into eyeglass frames such as to become anintegral part thereof, independent of other mounting means.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromconsideration of the drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the device connected with a pair ofeyeglass frames and illustrating, by dotted lines, the visioninterrupting position of the shutters; and,

FIG. 2 is a top view of FIG. 1.

In FIG. 1 it is seen that when the shutters 2 and 3 are open, the visionof the wearer is unimparied but will be interrupted when shutters 2 and3 are closed, as shown by the dotted lines. FIG. 2 shows the mountingbase 1 attached to the frame of a pair of eyeglasses 8. The shutters 2and 3 are caused to move in unison by the wire linkage 4. The dottedlines in FIG. 1 show the shutters 2 and 3 closed against the lower limitstop 6 by action of resilient member 5.

A plumb bob 7 is seen in FIG. 1 to be pivotally mounted to base 1 suchas to provide a vertical reference when the wearers head is in puttingposition as shown in FIG. 2. The stem of plumb bob 7 is shown in FIG. 1in the fully cocked or re-set position, engaging the innermost tooth ofthe control slot of shutter 2, thereby restraining shutters 2 and 3 frommoving.

Considering the device in greater detail, FIG. 1 shows the resetcondition where shutters 2 and 3 are in the fully open position andlinked together by the link 4, being biassed in the downward directionby resilient member 5. It is seen that the control shutter 2 includes anopen slot remote from its pivotal connection containing laterallyspaced-apart confronting rows of ratchet-like teeth such that thesloping angular edge of the teeth face the entrance. It will also beseen in FIG. 1 that the stem of plumb bob 7 is in the position ofengaging the innermost tooth of the inside set of teeth with respect tothe pivotal point, thereby restraining shutters 2 and 3 from movingtoward the closed position.

Further consideration of FIG. 1 will show that in order for theresilient member 5 to move the shutters 2 and 3, the stem of plumb bob 7must be moved in a lateral direction relative to base 1 or else base 1must be rotated relative to the plumb bob 7, since the plumb bob remainsrelatively fixed in space. It is to be further seen that the shutters 2and 3 cannot move very far in either case, due to the fact that lateralmovement of the plumb bob 7 which is of a magnitude to release the lasttooth from a position of engagement thereto moves plumb bob 7 intoposition to engage the last tooth on the other side of the control slotof shutter 2, again restraining shutters 2 and 3.

Consideration of what actually happens in practice will show that it isthe base 1 of the device which rotates with the users head movements andthe plumb bob '7 remains relatively fixed in space being always orientedin the downward direction when the golfer is in putting position. Thus,if the action during a putting sequence is considered from the puttingposition, rotation of the users head toward the hole results in theaction just described. The plumb bob 7 releases the last tooth which islocated on the inner side of the control slot of shutter 2 andimmediately engages the last tooth on the outer side of the controlslot. When the golfer counter-rotates his head to look back at the ball,the base 1 of the device rotates in a like manner and causes plumb bob 7to release the outer tooth of the control slot, permitting shutters 2and 3 to rotate a few degrees until the intermediate tooth of the innerset of teeth of the control slot is engaged by the stem of plumb bob 7.

This action completes one cycle of control shutterplumb bob interaction.Upon completion of another cycle (another look at the ball) the devicewill have taken another full step toward final release and shutters 2and 3 will be engaged and restrained at the first or exit stop and theshutters are then in a position of hairtrigger sensitivity such that theslightest motion of the golfers head toward the hole will releaseshutters 2 and 3 and resilient member will cause the shutters to close.

Following closure of the shutters, the device can be quickly reset, withthe wearers head either in a putting position or an upright position, byactuation of a lever extension of shutter 3. in this procedure the stemof plumb bob 7 is caused to traverse the control slot of shutter 2 in areverse direction, said traversal being simple and rapid due to the factthat all of the teeth in the control slot slope inward and offer littleresistance.

I claim:

1. A device for use, in combination with a frame for a pair ofeyeglasses, by a student of golf to develop correct technique andexecution of the golf putting stroke, comprising:

a base having means for attachment to said frame;

a pair of opaque plate-like shutters pivotally connected with said basefor vertical edgewise movement into and out of a users normal line ofsight through said frame;

a link interconnecting said pair of shutters;

a resilient member connected with said base and normally biassing saidpair of shutters toward the users normal line of sight; and,

means releasably maintaining said pair of shutters away from the usersline of sight.

2. The device as claimed in claim 1 in which said shutter releaseincludes a plumb bob having a stem pivotally connected with said baseand frictionally engaging at least one said shutter of said pair ofshutters.

3. The device as claimed in claim 1 in which one said shutter isprovided with a vertically open slot remote from its pivotal connectionand in which said shutter release means includes:

a plumb bob having a stem pivotally connected with said base and alength adapted to project beyond the forward limit of said frameopposite the user; and,

a plurality of vertically spaced projections formed on the edge surfacesof said one shutter defining the slot forming laterally spaced-apartconfronting rows of ratchet-like teeth successively engaging andreleasing said plumb bob stem in response to to-and-fro lateral movementof said frame.

1. A device for use, in combination with a frame for a pair of eyeglasses, by a student of golf to develop correct technique and execution of the golf putting stroke, comprising: a base having means for attachment to said frame; a pair of opaque plate-like shutters pivotally connected with said base for vertical edgewise movement into and out of a user''s normal line of sight through said frame; a link interconnecting said pair of shutters; a resilient member connected with said base and normally biassing said pair of shutters toward the user''s normal line of sight; and, means releasably maintaining said pair of shutters away from the user''s line of sight.
 2. The device as claimed in claim 1 in which said shutter release includes a plumb bob having a stem pivotally connected with said base and frictionally engaging at least one said shutter of said pair of shutters.
 3. The device as claimed in claim 1 in which one said shutter is provided with a vertically open slot remote from its pivotal connection and in which said shutter release means includes: a plumb bob having a stem pivotally connected with said base and a length adapted to project beyond the forward limit of said frame opposite the user; and, a plurality of vertically spaced projections formed on the edge surfaces of said one shutter definiNg the slot forming laterally spaced-apart confronting rows of ratchet-like teeth successively engaging and releasing said plumb bob stem in response to to-and-fro lateral movement of said frame. 